CSANews Issue 90

Spring 2014 » Issue 90

Stormy weather! Sitting on my balcony in Englewood, overlooking the ocean and watching its immense power in an April storm, it is hard to believe how lucky I am to be sitting here. How lucky we all are to be living the lives that we have been given. It has been a wild winter, both in Canada and in the United States, with temperatures fluctuating wildly both up and down…but the winter is now almost over.

I, of course, have to go home. Some snowbirds are gone already, some are rushing home at the end of April to file taxes, and a few are staying through to Mother’s Day to keep the company of their many U.S. friends.

It never ceases to amaze me how much we have to do before we leave. We have been busy every day that we have been here (I did actually read two books – about 10 hours total) and you would expect that everything is done. But it’s not. Fix the screens, stop the leaky pipe, clean up the storm damage (not much), plant those last few flowers, clean out the garage so that I can park the car where it is supposed to go, and drag in my little 12-foot sailboat to shelter. Inside, there is food to be given away to neighbours and decisions to make about what goes home and what stays and…the packing. We fly, so we must recognize the power of the “weight watchers” at the airport and we have our two dogs that, with cages, are minorly over the weight limit. We look forward, with trepidation, to the nonsense that we may encounter. In 20 years, we have only had one problem, but it is difficult to forget that one time, so we probably worry too much.

In reality, we are moving ‒ one of the most stressful events on most stress scales ‒ and I believe that all the practice we have had makes us impervious to such silliness. How silly of me to think that. This is just another kind of stormy weather and should be enjoyed. We are going home! Safe and sound! For another wonderful Canadian summer. Enjoy it immensely!